Fragrance dispensing device

ABSTRACT

A fragrance cartridge comprising a reservoir containing a fragrance material and provided with channels to permit ingress of carrier gas into the reservoir and egress of fragrance-containing carrier gas from the reservoir, the channels being defined by capillaries having internal diameter and length dimensions sufficient to act as closure means to prevent, or substantially prevent, leakage of fragrance from the reservoir into a head space external of the cartridge when carrier gas flow is interrupted. The cartridge can be used for example to enhance the sensorial perception of a viewer, listener or consumer of an audio and/or visual performance or presentation, by passing fragrance borne on the carrier into a head space local to the listener, viewer or consumer.

The invention is concerned with fragrance cartridges for storingfragrances, and for releasing them on demand by means of a stream ofcarrier gas that may flow through the cartridges.

Odour presentation has typically been carried out using scent bottlesand absorbent paper smelling strips, scent pens or olfactometers. Thesepresentation methods suffer on the one hand from inaccurate dosing andthe possibility of contamination of surfaces with liquid samples, and onthe other hand from the complexity of the dosing device. Recently,fragrance cartridges have been proposed that can store fragrance forlong periods of time before releasing the fragrance in a time-dependentand controlled manner by means of a flow of carrier gas.

Fragrance cartridges are known in FR 2771930. They are described asbeing capable of releasing fragrance on a stream of carrier gas in atime-controlled manner. A cartridge consists of a cylindrical reservoirof uniform cross section. The fragrance is contained in the reservoirand is supported on a suitable carrier material. Closure of thereservoir to prevent fragrance loss during storage is provided byflexible membrane disks that seal both ends of the reservoir. Fragranceis released when the membranes are punctured with hollow needles orcannulae, whereupon fragrance is permitted to flow out of the reservoirand through the needles or cannulae on a stream of carrier gas.

The prior art does not disclose any information as to the dimensionalrequirements of the cartridges needed to facilitate storage and releaseof fragrance from said cartridges. Storage and release is simplypredicated on the puncture and re-sealing of the flexible membranesusing cannulae. Whereas fragrance can be released in a satisfactorymanner on a carrier gas stream from such cartridges by such measures,when gas flow is interrupted, fragrance continues to leak from thecannulae and strong fragrant head space around the cannulae can bedetected. Whereas this evolution of unwanted head space can be remediedby removing the cannulae, the repetitive puncturing and removalinevitably compromises the sealing properties of the membranes, leadingeventually to failure of sealing properties and leakage.

Furthermore, removal of cannulae requires a mechanical operation. Ifthis is done by manual intervention, the process of switching from theemission of one fragrance accord to another is slow and laborious,rendering the cartridge impractical if rapid entry and re-entry into thereservoir is required to release fragrances in a responsivetime-dependant manner. Yet, if automated means for this operation areprovided, it adds to the complexity of the design of the cartridge, ormeans interacting with the cartridge thereby adding to the expense ofachieving fragrance delivery.

There remains a need to provide fragrance cartridges that are capable ofreleasing fragrance material on demand and in a time-controlled manneron a stream of carrier gas, and yet when inactive, they are able tostore fragrance essentially without leakage by employing means that arecapable of mass-production at low cost.

A study of the diffusion behaviour of fragrances revealed thatdisplacement per unit time of even very diffusive fragrance materialswas, remarkably, rather small. It was also surprisingly found that iffragrance molecules were permitted to diffuse through narrowcapillaries, even the most diffusive molecules were so constrained thatthe capillaries acted essentially as if they were closed. This allowedthe development of a very simple means of actuating and interruptingflow of a fragrance from a fragrance-containing reservoir without theneed for mechanical intervention to interrupt flow.

Therefore the invention provides in a first aspect a fragrance cartridgecomprising a reservoir containing a fragrance material and provided withinlet and outlet channels to permit ingress of carrier gas into thereservoir and egress of fragrance-containing carrier gas from thereservoir, the channels being defined by capillaries having internaldiameter and length dimensions sufficient to act as closure means toprevent, or substantially prevent, leakage of fragrance from thereservoir into a head space external of the cartridge when carrier gasflow is interrupted.

By the phrase “substantially prevent”, in relation to fragrance leakage,it is meant that to the extent that any fragrance leaks, the rate ofleakage is so low that any concentration of leaked fragrance emanatinginto a head space external of the cartridge, or device containing acartridge, is below the detection level of a user. As a practical guideand without limiting the invention in any way, the cartridge should beconfigured such that the fragrance leakage does not exceed a rate of 400ng per second.

The cartridges according to the present invention may be connected to adevice containing pump means in order to release a fragrance material ondemand thereby to create a head space of fragrance external of thecartridge or device, which can be sensed by a user. Furthermore, ifcarrier gas flow is actuated and interrupted according to apre-determined sequence, the outlet capillaries act essentially asvalves to prevent or permit fragrance release in a controlled andresponsive manner. As such, an odourant can be delivered accurately to ahead space when required and does not deliver any leaked fragrance tothe head space, thereby avoiding head space contamination after gas flowis interrupted. Accordingly, when a series of cartridges containingdifferent fragrance materials are linked to a device controlling theflow of carrier gas through said cartridges in a time-controlled manner,different fragrances may be released in a pre-determined sequence. Thisopens the possibility of actuating and interrupting gas flow through agiven cartridge in accordance with a signal received from audio/visualequipment, thereby to synchronise fragrance release with certain visualand/or acoustic signals such that a consumer, viewer or listener canlisten to, and/or watch a performance such as a film, a piece of musicor a presentation, whilst receiving corresponding odour impressions inhis or her surrounding head space. Such responsiveness necessary torealise this synchronised effect has not hitherto been possible usingknown cartridges that require mechanical disconnection and reconnectionof cannulae from a reservoir in order to switch fragrance release on andoff. Or at least, this could not be achieved in a cost effective manner.

It is an important aspect of the present invention that the inlet/outletcapillaries must be of an appropriate inner diameter and length to actas closure means. Once apprised of the surprising discovery that thesecapillaries can act substantially to prevent fragrance leakage bydiffusion, it is a simple matter for the skilled person to select thediameter and length of the capillaries for its particular purpose. Thus,a fragrance material that has a very high vapour pressure and a very lowdetection threshold can be taken and there can be calculated the maximumdiameter and minimum length of the capillaries that still permit of areduction of fragrance leakage to levels below that of detection in anexternal head space. Exemplary of such fragrance materials are ethylacetate, myrcene and eucalyptol.

In order to assess whether levels of fragrance leakage are detectable ornot, a relevant head space volume should be defined. Given thatcartridges of the present invention are to be used primarily to emitsmall amounts of fragrance into small head spaces local to a user, arelevant head space for this determination is taken to be one litre.This also takes into consideration that, in general, an adult personaspires air at a rate of 8 to 10 litres per minute. As such, therelevant head space will be aspired during 6 to 8 seconds. Accordingly,under such stringent conditions, by determining the maximum internaldiameter, and minimum length needed to prevent substantial leakage ofthe aforementioned fragrance materials, we can produce cartridges thatwill substantially prevent the leakage of any fragrance materials thatare available in the palette of perfumers.

Thus, the invention provides in another of its aspects a method offorming cartridges comprising the step of determining the dimensions ofthe capillaries in order to ensure that they act as effective closuremeans within the meaning of the present invention, in accordance withthe methodology disclosed hereinunder. It is another aspect of theinvention to provide a method of fragrancing a head space comprising thestep of selecting a fragrance cartridge according to the selectioncriteria set forth hereinbelow.

It is well known that displacement of molecules in a gas may occur as aresult of fluctuating air currents and by diffusion. In narrowcapillaries, there is little or no influence of air currents and somolecular displacement is essentially controlled by diffusion. Moleculesdiffuse from a point of high concentration to a point of lowerconcentration in a series of random movements. These random movementsoccur as a result of collisions between a gas molecule and itsneighbours. Through this random movement, a gas molecule will have acharacteristic displacement per unit time that is related to itsintrinsic properties such as its size, mass and polarity. The tendencyof a given gas molecule towards displacement may be expressed in termsof its Diffusion Coefficient (D) and is expressed in units of cm²/s. TheDiffusion Coefficient for a given molecule can be calculated followingthe methodology of Bemg{dot over (a)}rd A and Colmsojö A, GasChromatographic Methods for the Assessment of Binary DiffusionCoefficients for Compounds in Gas Phase J Chromatogr. 522 (1990)277-284. This is a sophisticated calculation model that has beenvalidated with experimental data for a large palette of molecules.

Presented with the Diffusion Coefficient of a given fragrance material,it is possible to calculate the diffusion distance per unit time for arelevant diffusion symmetry. By “relevant diffusion symmnetry” we assumea linear diffusion model, for example as described in Martin Quack,Molekulare Thermodynamik und Kinetic: Teil 1. ChemischeReaktionskinetik; Ch 8 at p 216-225, VDF publication 1986. This modelassumes that a molecules of a gas move in one dimension along a tube.According to the model, the distance the molecule will travel, r_(diff),is given by the formular_(diff=) {square root}{square root over (2Dt)}wherein D is the Diffusion Coefficient (cm²/s) and t is time (seconds).Thus, measuring D at ambient temperature and pressure, one can calculatethe diffusion distance in one second along the tube for a givenfragrance material.

Further, for a given internal diameter of capillary, the concentrationof a fragrance material in that capillary can be described as a function(see equation below) of the distance from the origin (r=0), which is setas the point where the reservoir and capillary join. Still further, itis within the realm of common general knowledge that diffusion of a gasis defined by the two Fick Laws, defined by general differentialequations, and that in the given case have two well defined boundaryconditions: First, at the capillary inlet (origin) the concentrationc(r=0) of fragrance is taken to be the vapour pressure. Second, for acapillary with infinite length, the concentration at r=infinity is zero.Assuming that at the end of the capillary with a length L, at itsoutlet, diffusing molecules will immediately experience turbulence andthus be mixed with ambient pure air, the boundary condition for c(L) canbe set to zero. Therefore, the solution of the stationary diffusionequation provides the following concentration gradient in the capillary:C(r)=C(r=0)+1/r[(C(r=L)−C(r=0))/L]wherein

-   -   C(r) is the concentration at a distance r from the origin,    -   C(r=0) is the head space concentration of fragrance material in        reservoir, and    -   C(r=L) is set to zero.

Therefore, C(L−r_(diff)) represents the concentration of fragrance inthe portion of the capillary a distance r_(diff) measured from theoutlet, and is therefore relevant for the leakage rate out of thecapillary. It is possible to calculate the leak-rate (mass-loss persecond) by multiplying this concentration by the volume fragment of thecapillary with length r_(diff) and the area formed by the innercapillary diameter (V_(diff)=Πd²/4).

From this calculated leak-rate, the amount of fragrance being leakedinto the head space per second may be determined. Therefore, if adilution of this amount of fragrance into a head space of 1 litre isassumed, it is easy to determine whether the capillary dimensions aresufficient to prevent a Sensory Threshold Concentration within the headspace.

In this manner, the present invention defines a simple method ofdetermining appropriate dimensions for a cartridge without the skilledperson having to resort to undue experimentation. Furthermore, acomparison of the theoretical assessment presented above withexperimental data for ethyl acetate, myrcene and eucalyptol and foundexcellent correspondence of theory and experimental data as is shown inTable 1 below. diffusion · Sensory Experi- distance Vapour Thresh- mentCalcu- d L (r) pressure hold Leak rate lation Molecule [mm] [mm] [mm/s][μg/l] [ng/l] [ng/s] Leak rate OV Ethyl 1.2 16.5 4.0 414202 54 300 397ng/s 6 Acetate Ethyl 0.4 30 4.0 414202 54 14 ng/s  18 ng/s <1 AcetateMyrcene 1.2 16.5 3.4 13736 136 26 14 ˜1 Myrcene 0.4 30 3.4 13726 136 1.80.7 <1 Eucalyptol 1.2 16.5 3.3 14980 154 26 12 ˜10 Eucalyptol 0.4 30 3.314980 154 not 0.8 <1 detect- able

Referring to Table 1, the vapour pressure and Sensory DetectionThreshold are parameters that are characteristic of fragrance materialsand are well known persons skilled in the perfumery art. The Odour Value(“OV”) of a fragrance material is dimensionless and is provided by theratio of the concentration in the head space divided by its SensoryThreshold Concentration. An OV of unity (1) is taken to mean that theThreshold Concentration has been reached such that 50% of the populationwill be able to detect the fragrance in the head space, i.e. itsdetection by a person having mean sensing ability is purely to chance.The Threshold Concentration can be measured according to a standard testmethod ASTM E1432-91, and is measured either by olfactometry means or byusing sniff-bottles and allowing panelists to assess the head spacepresented.

These results demonstrate that for ethyl acetate, which represents oneof the most diffusive materials in the palette of a perfumer, for adiameter of 1.2 mm the length of 16.5 mm is too short as the leakagerate is rather high, such that the “OV” is 6 times above threshold.However, when the diameter is reduced to 0.4 mm, the leakage isundetectable. The results for eucalyptol follow a similar pattern as forethyl acetate, but myrcene shows a non-detectable leakage for eitheroutlet tube.

These results further demonstrate that the present invention describes asimple and reliable method of calculating cartridge dimensions based onDiffusion Coefficient data of fragrance materials, which are eitherknown or can be measured according to techniques known in the art. Infact, if an outlet capillary length of about 30 mm is an acceptablelength in terms of the overall dimensions of a cartridge containing suchcapillaries, the present invention demonstrates that all fragrancematerials known to perfumers can be essentially trapped in a cartridgeaccording to the present invention having a capillary internal diameterof 0.4 mm or less. Preferred cartridges according to the presentinvention have internal capillary diameters of 0.1 to 0.4 mm. Preferredcartridges according to the invention have capillary lengths of about 20to 30 mm.

The dimensions of the inlet and outlet capillaries however is a matterof choice for the skilled person, depending on the shape andconfiguration of the device to contain or connect with the cartridge orcartridges. Furthermore, the invention is not limited to any particularlength or diameter of capillary other than is purely necessary for thecapillary to fulfil its stated function. The cartridge may otherwise beany shape or configuration suitable to the its intended end use, andsuited to the device it is to be inserted in, or connected to. Ifeconomy of space is an issue, a rather short capillary length may bedesired, and the internal diameter of the capillary would have to benarrowed accordingly.

The latitude to reduce the diameter of the inlet and outlet capillariesdoes nevertheless have limitations. The capillaries' diameter should notbe so narrow that the pressure of carrier gas will be prohibitively highin order to force it through the cartridge. The pressure of carrier gasmust be sufficient to expel a saturated head space of fragrance materialcontained in the reservoir, through the outlet tube and into theexternal head space in a short period of time, e.g. 2 to 5 seconds butit should preferably not exceed a pressure of about 200 mbar overatmospheric pressure. Above this pressure, the vapour pressure offragrance components in the reservoir may be altered to an extent thatit is no longer possible to generate a saturated head space in thereservoir quickly enough to emit fragrance in the desired manner. Havingregard to these factors the skilled person would have no difficulty indetermining the minimum acceptable internal diameter for thecapillaries. In particular, to avoid gas pressure problems, the minimuminternal diameter of the tube should be in the order of about 0.1millimetres. However, it is unlikely that one would need to resort tosuch a small diameter, unless there was a need to drastically reduce thetube length, for example in order to produce a very miniaturised versionof the cartridge. Even then, miniaturisation may be possible whilstmaintaining capillary length simply by employing the expedient ofcoiling the capillary.

Generally, whereas small diameter capillaries, e.g. 0.1 to 0.4 mm arepreferred because the cartridges are primarily intended to be used togenerate only small head spaces, e.g. about one litre, containing smallamounts of fragrance material, nevertheless, if fragrancing of largerhead spaces is required, large volumes of carrier gas will need to passthrough the cartridges in a relatively short space of time in order toprovide the larger concentrations of fragrance needed to saturate largerexternal head spaces. Therefore, larger internal diameters ofcapillaries will be required, i.e. greater than 1.2 mm, and up to about0.5 cm in order to accommodate these higher carrier-gas flows. In such acase, the length of the tube will have to be increased accordingly. Onceagain, if economy of space is an issue, the capillaries may be coiled.

Preferably, the inlet capillary should be similarly configured as theoutlet capillary in order to prevent leakage of fragrance materialduring storage of the cartridge, or during periods when no carrier gasflows through the cartridge. Preferably, disposed within the inletcapillary is a plug of activated carbon. This has the advantage ofpurging inlet carrier gas of impurities that may have organolepticproperties and adversely influence the fragrance accord expressed fromthe cartridge. The plug has the additional advantage that in use, it mayprevent any flow of fragrance material up the tube in the event of aback-pressure event caused by malfunction of a carrier gas pump.

In a similar fashion, the outlet tube may contain a plug to prevent anyparticulate reservoir carrier material from being ejected from thereservoir and out through the outlet capillary under pressure. Such aplug may be formed of a suitably inert material such as cotton or quartzglass wool.

Whereas the cartridges of the present invention prevent detectableleakage of fragrance materials, nevertheless it remains that in the caseof some of the most diffusive fragrance materials there will be quite alarge fragrance loss over extended periods of storage. Notwithstandingthat for the vast majority of fragrances, the loss of fragrance overprolonged periods of time is negligible. However, insofar as there maybe a problem with exhaustion of the most diffusive of fragrancematerials during storage, in particular when the reservoirs only containlow concentrations of these materials, one can take the additionalprecaution of adding a sealing tape or the like, across the inlets andoutlets of the capillaries that form gas-tight seals. Such tapes may bepresent during storage and be removed or punctured shortly before use.

Aside from the very diffusive of fragrance materials described above,the present invention may be used to deliver all types of fragrancematerials, assured that there will be no leakage, or substantially noleakage when carrier gas flow is interrupted. And yet the cartridges canbe small in size such that it can be miniaturised and still permit ofacceptable carrier-gas flows at acceptable pressures to enable saturatedhead spaces of fragrance materials to be generated quickly on demand.This means that any type of fragrance material available to the perfumercan be employed in the present invention, such as those classes of knowncompounds, e.g. acids, esters, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, lactones,nitriles, ethers, acetates, hydrocarbons, sulfur- nitrogen- andoxygen-containing heterocyclic, polycyclic and macrocyclic compounds, aswell essential oils of natural or synthetic origin. Such fragrancematerials are described, for example, in S. Arctander Perfume Flavorsand Chemicals Vols. 1 and 2, Arctander, Montclair, N.J. USA 1969. Thefragrances optionally may comprise odourless liquids such as dipropyleneglycol, propylene glycol, diethylphtalate, benzyl benzoate,triethylcitrate, isopropylmyristate, carbitol, and hexylene glycol, ormixtures thereof.

Illustrative examples of fragrances selected from these general classesinclude C6 hexylic, acetophenone, alcohol C6 hexylic, aldehyde C7heptylic, aldehyde C9 isononylic, allyl caproate, allyl oenanthate, amylbutyrate, amyl vinyl carbinol, anapear, benzaldehyde, benzyl formate,benzyl methyl ether, bomyl acetate liquid, butyl acetate, camphene,carbitol, citronellal, cresyl methyl ether para, cyclal C, cymene para,decenal-4-trans, delta-3 carene, diethyl malonate, dihydro anethole,dihydro myrcenol, dimethyl octenone, dimetol, dimyrcetol, dipentene,estragole, ethyl acetate, ethyl acetoacetate, ethyl amyl ketone, ethylbenzoate, ethyl butyrate, ethyl caproate, ethyl isoamyl ketone, ethylisobutyrate, ethyl methyl-2-butyrate, ethyl oenanthate, ethylpropionate, eucalyptol, fenchone alpha, fenchyl acetate, fenchylalcohol, freskomenthe, geranodyle, guaiacol, hexenal-2-trans,hexenol-3-cis, hexenyl acetate, hexenyl-3-cis butyrate, hexenyl-3-cisformate, hexenyl-3-cis isobutyrate, hexenyl-3-cis methyl-2-butyrate,hexenyl-3-cis propionate, hexyl butyrate, hexyl isobutyrate, hexylpropionate, hydratropic aldehyde, isoamyl propionate, isobutylisobutyrate, isocyclocitral, isopentyrate, isopropyl methyl-2-butyrate,isopulegol, leaf acetal, lime oxide, limetol, linalool oxide, linalool,manzanate, melonal, menthone, methyl amyl ketone, methyl benzoate,methyl camomille, methyl hexyl ketone, methyl pamplemousse, methylsalicylate, nonanyl acetate, ocimene, octenyl acetate, pandanol, pinenealpha, pinene beta, prenyl acetate, terpinene gamma, terpinolene,tetrahydro citral, tetrahydro linalool, tricyclal, and valerolactonegamma, acetal E, acetal R, acetanisole, adoxal, agrumex, alcohol C10decylic, alcohol C11 undecylenic, alcohol C12 lauric, alcohol C8octylic, alcohol C9 nonylic, aldehyde C11 undecylenic, aldehyde C12undecylic, aldehyde C12 lauric, aldehy, aldehyde iso C11, allyl amylglycolate, allyl cyclohexyl propionate, ambrinol, amyl benzoate, amylcaproate, amyl cinnamic aldehyde, amyl phenyl acetate, amyl salicylate,anethole synthetic, anisyl acetate, anisyl alcohol, anther, aubepinepara cresol, benzyl acetone, benzyl butyrate, benzyl isobutyrate, benzylisovalerate, benzyl propionate, bergamyl acetate, berryflor, boisiris,butyl butyro lactate, butyl cyclohexanol para, butyl cyclohexyl acetatepara, butyl quinoline secondary, carvone laevo, caryophyllene,cashmeran, cedrene epoxide, cedroxyde, cedryl methyl ether, celeryketone, centifolyl, cetonal, cetone alpha, cinnamic aldehyde, cinnamylacetate, citral dimethyl acetal, citrodyle, citronellol, citronellylacetate, citronellyl butyrate, citronellyl formate, citronellylisobutyrate, citronellyl nitrile, citronellyl oxyacetaldehyde,citronellyl propionate, clonal, coniferan, creosol, cresyl acetate para,cresyl isobutyrate para, cumin nitrile, cuminic aldehyde, cuminylalcohol, cyclamen aldehyde extra, cyclogalbanate, cyclohexyl ethylacetate, cyclohexyl salicylate, cyclomethylene citronellol, cyperate,damascenone, decahydro naphthyl formate beta, decalactone delta,decalactone gamma, decatone, decyl methyl ether, delphone, dihexylfumarate, dihydro ambrate, dihydro cyclacet, dihydro eugenol, dihydrofamesal, dihydro ionone beta, dihydro jasmone, dihydro linalool, dihydroterpineol, dimethyl anthranilate, dimethyl benzyl carbinol, dimethylbenzyl carbinyl acetate, dimethyl benzyl carbinyl butyrate, dimethylphenyl ethyl carbinol, dimethyl phenyl ethyl carbinyl acetate, diphenylmethane, diphenyl oxide, dipropylene glycol, dupical, ebanol, ethylcaprylate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl decadienoate, ethyl linalool, ethyllinalyl acetate, ethyl octenoate-2, ethyl pelargonate, ethyl phenoxyacetate, ethyl phenyl acetate, ethyl phenyl glycidate, ethyl salicylate,eugenol pure, eugenyl acetate, farnesene, fennaldehyde, fixambrene,floralozone, floramat, florol, floropal, folenox, folione, folrosia,fraistone, fructone, fruitate, gardenol, gardocyclene, georgywood,geraniol, geranitrile, geranitrile T, geranyl acetate, geranyl acetone,geranyl butyrate, geranyl crotonate, geranyl formate, geranylisobutyrate, geranyl propionate, givescone, glycolierral, guaiylacetate, gyrane, heliotropine crystals, hexenyl-3-cis benzoate,hexenyl-3-cis hexenoate, hexenyl-3-cis salicylate, hexenyl-3-cistiglate, hexyl benzoate, hydroxycitronellal dimethyl acetal, indoflor,indole pure, indolene, ionone beta, irisantheme, irisone alpha, ironal,irone alpha, irone E, irone F, iso E super, isobomyl propionate,isobutyl benzoate, isobutyl phenyl acetate, isobutyl quinoline-2,isobutyl salicylate, isocaryol acetate, isoeugenol, jasmal, jasminlactone delta, jasmin lactone gamma, jasmolactone, jasmone cis,jasmonyl, kephalis, kohinool, labienone, lactoscatone, lemarome N,lemonile, lierral, lilial, linalyl acetate, linalyl butyrate, linalylformate, linalyl isobutyrate, linalyl propionate, lindenol, majantol,mayol, menthanyl acetate, metambrate, methoxy phenyl butanone, methylacetophenone, methyl cinnamate, methyl cinnamic aldehyde, methyldecalactone gamma, methyl diantilis, methyl diphenyl ether, methyl ionalbeta, methyl isoeugenol, methyl octalactone, methyl octyl acetaldehyde,methyl octyne carbonate, methyl phenyl acetate, methyl quinoline para,moxalone, myraldene, neofolione, nerol C, neryl acetate, nonadyl, nopylacetate, octahydro coumarin, octalactone delta, octalactone gamma,orcinyl 3, orivone, osyrol, oxyoctaline forrnate, parmavert, peach pure,pelargol, phenoxanol, phenoxy ethyl alcohol, phenoxy ethyl isobutyrate,phenyl ethyl acetate, phenyl ethyl alcohol, phenyl ethyl butyrate,phenyl ethyl forrnate, phenyl ethyl isobutyrate, phenyl propionicaldehyde, phenyl propyl acetate, phenyl propyl alcohol,pinoacetaldehyde, plicatone, precarone, prunolide, pyralone, radjanol,resedal, rhodinyl acetate, rhubafuran, rhubofix, rhuboflor, rosalva,sandalore, scentenal, skatole, spirambrene, stemone, strawberry pure,styrallyl propionate, syringa aldehyde, tangerinol, terpinene alpha,terpinyl acetate, terranil, tetrahydro linalyl acetate, tetrahydromyrcenol, tridecenonitrile, tropional, undecatriene, undecavertol,veloutone, verdol, verdyl acetate, verdyl propionate, vemaldehyde,vetynal, vetyvenal, and viridine, acetal CD, aldrone, ambrettolide,ambroxan, benzophenone, benzyl benzoate, benzyl cinnamate, benzyl phenylacetate, cepionate, cetalox, citronellyl ethoxalate, civettone, cresylcaprylate para, cresyl phenyl acetate para, cyclohexal, diethylphthalate, dione, dodecalactone delta, dodecalactone gamma, ethylmaltol, ethyl vanillin, ethylene brassylate, eugenyl phenyl acetate,evernyl, fixolide, florhydral, galaxolide, geranyl phenyl acetate,geranyl tiglate, grisalva, hedione, hexyl cinnamic aldehyde, hexylsalicylate, isomethyl cedryl ketone, laitone, linalyl benzoate, linalylcinnamate, linalyl phenyl acetate, maltol, maltyl isobutyrate, methylcedryl ketone, methyl dihydro isojasmonate, muscone, myraldyl acetate,nectaryl, okoumal, orange aldehyde, oranile, peonile, phenyl ethylbenzoate, phenyl ethyl cinnamate, phenyl ethyl phenyl acetate, propyldiantilis, rosacetol, rosaphen, sandela, thibetolide, timberol, triethylcitrate, undecalactone delta, vanillin, vanitrope, and velvione.

The reservoir is configured to receive a desired loading of fragrancematerial whilst leaving an appropriate volume about the fragrancematerial for a saturated head space of fragrance material to begenerated in a short period of time, for example within a few seconds.

Preferably, the reservoir will have a volume of between 0.01 and 20 cm³in order to receive up to 5 mg to 5 grams of fragrance material whilstproviding sufficient volume for a head space of 0.005 to 10 cm³depending on the carrier material. The upper limit on this head space issuch as to permit of rapid re-saturation of the head space, e.g. within10 seconds, more preferably 2 to 5 seconds after the previous head spaceis expelled on a stream of carrier gas. Its lower limit is dictated bythe need to have sufficient fragrance in the gaseous phase to provide apowerful fragrance accord to a user.

The reservoir may simply contain fragrance oil. However, it is preferredif the reservoir contains a carrier material for receiving the fragranceoil. The use of the term “fragrance material” in this applicationencompasses both a fragrance alone and a fragrance in combination with acarrier material. Any carrier material can be employed that is porousand/or absorbent, and which is not active in respect of any of thecomponents of the fragrance material, e.g. the carrier materialpreferably should not be selectively absorbent for certain fragrancematerial components. Preferably, such carrier materials are poroussubstrates that can accept high loadings of fragrance material.

Suitable carrier materials are the porous glass substrates described inU.S. Pat. No. 5,573,984 which is hereby incorporated by reference. Usingsaid carrier material in the form of small porous glass-beads has theadvantage that in practical considerations the ratio of the surface ofthe fragrance liquid is amplified by 2 orders of magnitude without beingabsorbed to an active surface. Furthermore, clogging cannot occur, afeature that is rather common in known systems using carrier materialsin powdered form.

The porous glass beads described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,984 represent anexcellent carrier material, but are relatively expensive. Other suitablematerials include porous glasses available such as LiaVer® or Rheopore®,which after milling to the desired particle size and after apurification step to wash out any organoleptic materials such assulphur-containing compounds used in the manufacture of the glasses, canbe used in a similar manner as the porous glass beads described above.Other examples of suitable materials are the porous polyethylene andpolybutylene polymers available commercially under the trade markPorex®.

The cartridge should be formed of a self-supporting material that iscapable of withstanding the pressure of carrier gas passing therethrough, and is also capable of withstanding any mechanical stressesassociated with handling and storage. Preferably, it is formed of aninert material, i.e. one that does not react with, or adversely affect,the fragrance material. Most preferably the cartridge is formed ofglass, silicon or a metal such as steel (preferably stainless steel) oraluminium which are commonly used to store fragrances in cartridgesknown in the art. It is also possible to use fragrance-compatiblepolymeric materials, or a combination of materials such as steel orglass lined internally with an inert polymeric layer.

Cartridges may be formed by a variety of techniques known in the art forproducing 3-dimensional microstructures in quartz, metal, silicon andplastics materials. In a preferred embodiment, the cartridges are formedof unitary construction wherein the capillary and reservoir structuresmay be hollows formed in blanks of glass, metal, silicon and polymericor plastics materials using, for example, using techniques such ashot-embossing or laser etching.

Once the structures have been formed in a suitable cartridge material,carrier material may be added to the reservoir and fragrance materialdosed thereon, before the whole structure is sealed, for example bylaser welding on to the structures a layer of compatible glass, silicon,metal (such as steel or aluminium) or fragrance-compatible polymeric orplastics material to form the finished cartridges. In this manner, oneor a series of cartridges may be made from a single blank. Suchmanufacturing techniques enable cartridges to be mass-produced in acheap manner. This represents an important advantage of the presentinvention as the cartridges are preferably designed as replaceableelements to be discarded after use, and as such they should be of simpleand cheap construction. Furthermore, as the 3-D microstructures of thecapillaries and reservoirs can be formed in this manner, the cartridgescan easily be miniaturised.

If the cartridge blanks have sufficient mechanical strength, then one ora series of cartridges formed from the same blank may act as aself-supporting body. However, it may be preferable to laminate onto thecartridges with a suitable support material that may be formed of anysuitable material such as plastics materials, or metals that are able toadd a protective surface and additional mechanical strength to thecartridges. Accordingly, a support body containing cartridges formsanother aspect of the present invention.

The support body is preferably formed of a plastics material for ease ofmanufacture, for example according to known moulding operation. Thesupport body should be configured in order to accommodate one or anumber of cartridges, in a manner that permits of their insertion orattachment into any suitable device containing a pump to provide carriergas. Aside from this functional limitation to the configuration of thesupport body, it can have any fanciful design components that add to eyeappeal. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, thesupport body may be configured in the shape of a credit card.Furthermore, the support body may contain surface features such asprinted matter that add information concerning the fragrances,advertisements, or decorative features. Still further, the support bodymay be provided with a machine-readable microprocessor chip. The chipmay contain certain information regarding security that will prevent useof the fragrance material contained in the cartridge without tamperingwith and destroying the support body and cartridge. Furthermore, thechip may contain information that can be read by a pump in a device inorder that the fragrance can be released from a cartridge or cartridgesin a pre-determined sequence, that may be synchronised with anaudio/visual display.

A cartridge, or support body containing a cartridge, according to thepresent invention may be fitted into, or connected with, a devicecomprising a pump. In a simple embodiment, it may simply be connected toa pump via a suitable conduit, e.g. a series of flexible pipescorresponding to the number of cartridges. The flexible pipes mayterminate in ferrules, e.g. each having a male portion adapted toregister in air-tight connection with the inlet ports of the cartridges.Carrier gas may thereafter be expressed down one or more pipes to emit adesired fragrance accord. A user may grasp the cartridges or supportbody and place its nose close to the outlet ports in order to smell theemitted fragrance. Alternatively, it is possible to connect a series ofpipes in a similar manner to the outlet ports in order that the user cansense the fragrance at a position remote from the support body orcartridges.

Although there has been described a very simple means of operating thepresent invention for sensing fragrance accords, the skilled person willunderstand that there are many ways for the support body and/orcartridges to engage with a pump device in order to achieve a desiredresult. Some further and specific embodiments are described withreference to the drawings.

Having regard to the foregoing description of the invention, the skilledperson will appreciate that the cartridges of the present invention areuseful in a multitude of applications relating to the sensorialenhancement of audio and visual presentations. Thus the inventionrelates to methods and devices for enhancing the sensorial perception ofaudio and visual presentations using or comprising a cartridge and/orsupport body described herein.

Cartridges contained in a support body as described herein represent aconvenient means of storing samples of fragrance materials. They areeasy and cheap to prepare; mechanically tough and light, they are easyto handle and store. Furthermore, they are easily packaged and shippedand so may represent a considerably cheaper and more efficient means ofperfumers supplying fragrance samples to clients. Clients thereby have aneat and convenient source of fragrance materials that are not of theliquid-in-vial type currently used and so are not prone to handlingdifficulties, or problems with contamination.

The cartridge and devices containing same or adapted to receive same areparticularly useful for perfumers who want to present new accords totheir customers. A simple, miniaturised and portable device containing apump, can be provided that is adapted to receive a cartridge orcartridges contained on a suitable support. The cartridge holds a seriesof fragrance accords and is provided with a chip that is synchronisedfor a certain audio-visual displays. The device is attached to acustomer's PC, and the cartridge is inserted into, or connected with,the device. Activation of an audio/visual display, that may beinteractive for the users greater control, causes the cartridge chip tobe read and for the pump to express carrier-gas through the appropriatecartridges in a pre-determined sequence.

The invention therefore also provides a device comprising means forreceiving a cartridge or support body as hereinabove defined, containinga cartridge and passing carrier gas therethrough, and a conduit leadingfrom the cartridge for carrying a stream of fragrance-containing carriergas, the conduit having an outlet or outlets for presenting head spaceto a user.

The invention will be further described with reference to the drawings,which depict non-limiting preferred embodiments.

FIG. 1 a is a plan view of a support body bearing two cartridges.

FIG. 1 b is a longitudinal cross-section of the embodiment of FIG. 1 aalong the line AA′.

FIG. 2 a is a schematic perspective view of a support body containing aplurality of cartridges within the support body.

FIG. 2 b is a schematic perspective view of another type of supportbody, this one in the preferred credit card format.

FIG. 3 b are schematic representations of the loading of the supportbodies of FIGS. 2 a and 2 b into devices.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a device for use with cartridgesacording ton this invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an alternative device for use withcartridges according to this invention.

The cartridge depicted in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b is a generally elongate body(1) consisting of an inlet capillary (3) and an outlet capillary (4)each connecting at one terminus with a reservoir (5), the reservoircontaining a porous and/or absorbent material (6) for holding afragrance material. At the other terminii of the capillary arerespectively inlet port (7) and outlet port (8) for permitting ingressof carrier gas and egress of fragrance-containing carrier gasrespectively. Inlet and outlet capillaries contain filters (9) intendedto prevent fragrance material, substrate material or any otherparticulate matter from being carried from the reservoir and carried outof the cartridge via the inlet and outlet capillaries. Additionally,inlet capillary (3) is equipped with an active carbon filter (10) inorder to remove any organoleptic material carried into the cartridge bythe carrier gas.

Each cartridge is sealed with a sealing layer (11). Sealing may beachieved by laser welding an appropriate material on to the support (2).

Whereas in this embodiment each of the outlet capillaries are providedwith separate outlet ports, in an alternative embodiment the outletcapillaries may converge in a manifold-type arrangement such that alloutlet capillaries share a common outlet port.

FIG. 2 a shows a generally cylindrical support body (12) containing aplurality of cartridges internal of the support. Details of thecartridge are left out for ease of representation.

FIG. 2 b shows a preferred credit-card design for a support body (13) inperspective containing a plurality of cartridges the details of whichare not shown.

FIGS. 3 a and 3 b depict the support bodies of FIGS. 2 a and 2 b, thatare in the process of being inserted into a device (14) along thedirection of the arrow into an orifice (15). Once inserted into thedevice, the inlet ports of the cartridges align with and register insubstantially air-tight communication with capillaries extending from apump means (not shown). A readable microprocessor chip (not shown) on anouter surface of the support body (13) can be read by the device suchthat, when the device is activated, pump means will express carrier gasinto the inlet capillary of an appropriate cartridge according to apre-determined sequence that may be synchronised with a visual oracoustic performance. In this simple arrangement, outlet ports (8) ofthe cartridges express fragrance-containing carrier gas (16) into a headspace immediately surrounding the orifice, where it can be detected by auser (17). Of course, outlet capillaries can be connected to conduits(not shown) that can carry the fragrance-containing carrier gas to aposition remote from the device, where a user can sense the fragrancematerial emanating into a head-space local to the outlet of theconduits. Socket (18) may be a simple plug for connecting the device toa source of power such as a mains supply or a battery. Alternatively,socket may be a USB connector for connecting the device to a computerterminal or other electronic device such as a television or the like.Alternatively, socket may be a Blue Tooth® connector or alternativewireless connector to permit of radio transmission means of activatingthe device.

FIG. 4 a shows a device (19) containing a pivotally-mounted conduit (20)that is connected internally to outlet capillaries of a cartridgecontained in the device such that the fragrance emitted from thecartridge can be sensed by the user remote from the device. FIG. 4 bshows an alternative design variant whereby remote sensing of fragrancematerial is achieved by a head-set arrangement (21) having a conduit(22) connected to a cartridge contained in a device (23), the conduitbeing fixed at one end to the head-set such that, in use, the outlet(24) of the conduit is positioned under the nose of a user wearing thehead set.

1. A fragrance cartridge comprising a reservoir containing a fragrancematerial and provided with channels to permit ingress of carrier gasinto the reservoir and egress of fragrance-containing carrier gas fromthe reservoir, the channels being defined by capillaries having internaldiameter and length dimensions sufficient to act as closure means toprevent, or substantially prevent, leakage of fragrance from thereservoir into a head space external of the cartridge when carrier gasflow is interrupted.
 2. A cartridge according to claim 1 wherein thecapillaries independently have a diameter of 0.1 to 0.4 mm.
 3. Acartridge according to claim 1 wherein the capillaries independentlyhave a length of 20 to 30 mm.
 4. A fragrance containing cartridgeaccording to claim 1 wherein fragrance leakage does not exceed a rate of400 ng per second.
 5. A support body having embedded therein a cartridgeor cartridges according to claim
 1. 6. A support body according to claim5 comprising a substantially flat body in the shape of a credit card. 7.A support body according to claim 7 having on an outer surface amachine-readable microprocessor chip containing instructions to be readby a device regarding actuation of gas flow through the cartridge orcartridges in a time-dependent and sequential manner, optionallyrelaying signals from audio or visual apparatus thereby to synchronisethe presentation of odours with an audio and/or visual display.
 8. Adevice containing pump means for expelling carrier gas adapted toreceive a cartridge, cartridges, or support body containing cartridge orcartridges according to claim
 1. 9. A method of enhancing the sensorialperception of a viewer, listener or consumer of an audio and/or visualperformance or presentation comprising the step of passing carrier gasthrough a cartridge, support body or device according to claim 1,thereby to present fragrances into a head space local to the listener,viewer or consumer.